


Area 51: A Love Story

by RelienaRed



Category: Carnage (Comics), Venom (Comics), Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Break-Up After Math, Crack Treated Seriously, Dark Humor, Depression, Murder, Nobody likes Ziggy, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Road Trips, Telepathic Bond, Telepathy, This is a love story, area 51 AU, dream suicide
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-16
Updated: 2019-10-22
Packaged: 2020-06-29 09:06:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19826929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RelienaRed/pseuds/RelienaRed
Summary: So this is a road trip comedy about a serial killer and a reporter going to bust into Area 51 because two piles of psychic goo told them too.





	1. Chapter 1

Eddie wasn’t the smartest man. He had figured that out when he decided to go off script and ask Carlton Drake a few too many questions. That had cost him his job, the love of his life and everything else.

However, Eddie wasn’t  _ that  _ stupid. Once he moved into his shit hole apartment, he tried to make friends with the people around him.

Most of them were pleasant enough. Not the types that Eddie would want to hang out with but still good people.

All but Ziggy.

Ziggy was an annoying asshole who played his guitar(badly) at all hours of the night. Eddie had tried to file a noise complaint but once the police got Eddie’s name,they hung the phone up. Along with that in the background and Eddie’s destroyed reputation, it made finding a job next to impossible. Even the shitty click bait sites wanted nothing to do with him.

It was a Wednesday and Eddie was half asleep on his sofa. He was clicking through the t.v slowly, watching the images blur into each other when a loud scream split the air.

Eddie flipped off his couch and landed on his face.

“Shit,” he pushed himself up slowly and watched the blood drip from his nose until a second scream filled the air.

He sprung to his feet and sprinted into the hall. He crashed into Ziggy’s door and started beating on it with both fist. Ziggy made noise all the time but never like this. It sounded like he was being murdered.

The man who answered the door was not Ziggy.

He was dressed in all red and he looked annoyed at Eddie beating on the door.

“Let me guess,” he rolled his eyes and didn't seem bothered by Eddie’s face that was pouring blood. “The guitar was too loud.” the stranger’s voice was dripping with amusement and he had a sick gleam in his eye.

“Who the hell are you?” Eddie wiped the blood off his lips.

“Now, you didn’t hit your head did you?” the stranger pointed to the mess of blood on Eddie’s sleep-shirt. “I’m your neighbor, Ziggy!” the stranger opened both his arms almost as if he was expecting Eddie hug him.

“You are not Ziggy,” this was the stupidest thing Eddie had ever seen. Maybe the guy was one of Ziggy’s friends that got a hold of a bad bag of weed. 

“Course I am!” the stranger lowered his arms and smiled. It made Eddie’s skin crawl and he was really starting to fear for Ziggy’s safety.

“What was that scream?” Eddie stood on his toes to try and get a better look at Ziggy’s apartment.

“Oh that!” the stranger rocked back on his heels and moved closer to the door. Against the white door, Eddie could see the blood stains on the stranger’s hands. “I just headbanged myself into a wall.”

“Well,” he looked over his shoulder to see if anyone else was awake. “Just be careful.” The stranger looked like trouble and Eddie had had enough trouble to last a life time. 

Eddie walked backwards to his apartment, never taking his eyes off the stranger. The man looked dangerous. Eddie made a mental note to lock the door and put a kitchen chair in front of it

“Make sure you take care of that nose, Eddie!” the stranger called out right before Eddie closed his door. He waved at Eddie with a dark gleam in his eyes.

“You wouldn’t wanna get red everywhere.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ziggy suddenly changes hair color, eye color, and grows taller but Eddie is the only one who gives a crap

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I listen to Taylor Swift when I write this.
> 
> I just want you to know.

After having his morning coffee, Eddie decided to head out. He knew there was a story out there, he just had to find it. He had almost convinced himself that the ordeal with the not-Ziggy was all a dream. More realistically, it was probably just one of Ziggy’s friends messing with him. Ziggy was an asshole like that and the company he kept wasn't much better.

This idea fell apart when he walked out the door and saw not-Ziggy chatting it up with Karen that lived on the next floor up.

“I am so sorry to hear about that Ziggy, my cats told me that Abigail was no good for you,” Karen patted not-Ziggy’s shoulder sympathetically, her voice laced with pity. 

“I just can’t believe it, I thought she was the one!” not-Ziggy was doing a great job at his sob story. Eddie stood in the background, more concerned and confused than ever. 

“Oh you poor dear,” Karen stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around not-Ziggy. He faked sobbed into her shoulder for a few moments before breaking the embrace. When she pulled away, she really was crying.

Eddie said nothing. His mouth open in shock, he just waved his hand wildly in the direction of not-Ziggy, hoping to get Karen’s attention. The man might have been wearing Ziggy's Metallica shirt and holey jeans but this was not Ziggy.

Karen pulled two rocks out of her pocket. She had given Eddie two when he first moved in. She said it was a black onyx to help with positive thinking, the other being an opal stone to help with creativity. Both stones were collecting dust along with his meditation CD.

“Here sweetheart,” just like she had done with Eddie, she placed two stones in not-Ziggy’s hand. “This one is a red jasper, it helps with energy and motivation. And this one,” she pulled another black stone out of her pocket and let out a loud gasp. She turned her attention to Eddie who was still waving his hand all over the place. 

“Why Eddie, this stone looks like it broke off of the piece I gave you,” she did some sort of weird shake and eagerly placed it in not-Ziggy’s hand along with the red jasper. “You’re destinies are intertwined!” 

Eddie looked out the window, wondering if he jumped out of it if he could land on his bike and ride away from this place.

Not-Ziggy was eating up every word Karen was saying to him. She grabbed both his hands and smiled. 

“Now, both those stones should help you, just keep them with you at all times,” Karen looked like the sun was about to bust through her pale skin.

“Of course,” this time not-Ziggy wasn’t acting. From some reason those stupid rocks meant a lot to him. Karen blushed before stammering through a goodbye and running up the stairs. Not-Ziggy paid no attention to Eddie. He was humming something to himself and made a point to loudly lock the door behind him.

Eddie dashed after Karen, taking the steps two at a time. He caught her before she also locked herself in her apartment.

“What the hell was that?” He asked breathlessly.

“Ziggy’s girlfriend cheated on him, the poor thing. He’s such a nice boy,” Karen giggled in that way that girls do when they like _like_ someone.

“That’s not Ziggy!” Eddie exclaimed. Karen squinted at him.

“Of course it is! Who else would it be?” she twirled a dread of her hair. Whatever it was dreaded for fashion or because she didn’t bathe Eddie couldn’t tell. 

“That man has red hair, green eyes and is at least two inches taller than Ziggy!” Eddie rubbed his temples hard enough to leave a red mark.

“Eddie, dear, Ziggy always looks like that. You must be used to seeing him without his boots on.” 

Was there a gas leak? Or a nerve toxin being released into the building? Sure, Karen believed in all types of holistic medicines and she thought that Advil had drugs in it that would make a man’s penis smaller but she wasn’t this dumb.

“Yeah,” Eddie sighed deeply. “Yeah, I’m just not used to seeing him without the boots.” Defeated for the moment, Eddie walked downstairs before the conversation got any weirder.

He found himself staring at not-Ziggy’s door. 

Eddie had heard screaming last night. The type of screaming one would hear when a person gets killed by a serial killer in a horror movie. 

“Shit,” Eddie leaned against his own door. 

Ziggy was dead. Eddie had heard him get murdered last night and he did nothing to stop it.

He fought back the guilt and shoved it to a place where it could later manifest as a graphic nightmare. Right now he had work to do.

That red haired asshole killed Ziggy and tried to take his place. Eddie decided it was his duty to find out why and blow the story wide open. Ziggy might of been an asshole but he didn't deserve to be murdered and forgotten.

Karen had said that his and not-Ziggy’s destinies were intertwined. Maybe this was what she meant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters are gonna get longer after this! Much love to everyone from the carnage discord. I may be posting this on here but this really is a group effort and this would not exist without them!  
> Hmu up on twitter @SymbioticGoth or tumblr @mrs-darkling-is-a-witch


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter deals with some heavy stuff including depression and suicide. Its mainly towards the end but just heads up for you.

It took Eddie two hours to get away from Mrs. Sheppard. She kept insisting that he stay just a little longer because she rarely got company. When he asked about not-Ziggy she smiled softly and said that Ziggy must have found God because he no longer played “the devil’s music” and that she was very happy for him.

Eddie wasn’t going to touch the topic of God, religion or faith with a ten foot pole and instead just watched daytime soap operas with her for an hour.

Walking back out into the main building made him feel less trapped. He didn’t notice that Mrs. Sheppard’s entire apartment smelled like mothballs until the scent was no long assaulting his nose.

Eddie tried Derek’s place next and that was an even bigger mistake.

When Derek answered the door he was decked out head to toe in Bengal’s gear. His entire apartment was covered in black, orange and tigers. Even his face was painted

“Eddie!” Derek’s voice was way too loud and he had Doritos dust on his fingers. His breath smelled like beer but it wasn’t even three yet. “Come in! I got the game on!”

Eddie’s wrist were seized by Dorito fingers and he was pulled into the man cave.

Derek’s TV was huge. An expensive flat screen that was bigger than Eddie’s bed. A logo from the 1988 Super Bowl flashed on the screen while a VCR made a very unhealthy noise. Eddie wasn’t one for football but he was pretty sure the Bengal’s lost that year.

“So,” Derek shoved another handful of chips into his mouth. “What brings you here?”

Thank god, Derek just cut right to the chase. He seemed like a nice guy but all the black and orange was making Eddie feel dizzy.

“Have you noticed anything off about Ziggy?” Eddie sat down in the recliner that was furthest away from the TV. It felt and looked like it was also from 1988.

“Ziggy?” Derek paused and looked confused. “The denim wearing pothead? Loud guitar?” Derek then air guitared and tried to mimic the sound of a guitar.

“Yes!” Eddie yelled happily. Finally a lead! He wasn’t the only person who noticed Ziggy’s presence on the Earth!

“I saw him this morning checking the mail. He-” Derek interrupted himself to give a loud cheer when the Bengals scored a field goal. He celebrated for a few seconds then picked his sentence right back up as if nothing had happened. “He looked fine. Better even. He looked cleaned up and was singing something to himself,” Derek went to fish another Dorito out of the bag but it was empty. He shrugged, sighed and let the bag fall to the floor.

“You didn’t notice that he,” Eddie took a breath. If he lost his temper then he wouldn’t get any information, “looked like a different person?”

Derek gave Eddie a questioning look, “Course he looks different. He got off whatever drugs he was doing. You know, Jermome Simpson got caught with that weed stuff too. Although I think it was a set up just to hurt the team. Damn Stealers.”

That was enough for Eddie. If he didn’t get out of there right now, he was going to choke himself with the overly long “who day” scarf that was hanging next to the door.

He made up some excuse about leaving the stove on and left. 

Eddie wasn’t even sure if his stove worked anymore.

Everyone was clearly in deep denial about this. That man was _not_ -Ziggy and Eddie was starting to feel like the only person who noticed this. He stepped outside to get fresh air but was hit in the face by cigarette smoke.

“Shit, sorry,” Lynn was the only person he hadn’t talked too. She waved her smoke away from his face. Eddie didn’t know a lot about her, she moved in right before him and he had heard rumors that she was trying to make it as a model.

“Lynn, right?” Eddie asked. She raised her eyebrow at him. At least she blew her smoke away from his face.

“Yeah?” she looked back at her phone and proceeded to take selfies during their entire conversation.

“Did you hear a loud scream last night?” Eddie said the words slowly. He wasn’t trying to insult Lynn’s intellect but rather,he was trying to keep himself from screaming.

“Yeah,” she made a peace sign and stuck her tongue out to the camera. “Sounded like it came from Ziggy’s”

“Oh thank god,” he sighed in relief. “I think something might have happened to him.”

Lynn locked her phone and flicked her cigarette into the road. Her sarcastic smile was laced with bitterness of a woman scorned.

“Ziggy can go fuck off and die for all I care!” she stormed passed Eddie and stomped up the steps.

Great. Mrs. Sheppard was convinced that Ziggy was born-again. Derek was pretty sure Ziggy just got clean, Karen had more rocks in her head than in her pocket and Lynn looked like she’d enjoy killing Ziggy herself.

Questioning his own sanity, Eddie went back to his apartment. He lingered outside of not-Ziggy’s door long enough to hear “Unchained Melody” playing from inside. It was at a reasonable volume and Eddie wouldn’t of noticed it if he hadn’t pressed his ear to the door. He could hear not-Ziggy talking but it didn’t sound like there was more than one person in there.

The music stopped abruptly and Eddie bolted back to his own apartment. Listening into someone else’s place wasn’t a good look for anyone. The last thing he needed was to get labeled as a "peeping creep."

The one good thing that happened was his stove still worked. It cooked food unevenly but tater tots tasted like shit in the microwave. He fell asleep on the couch, nursing his own beer bottle and half wondering if Derek watched the entire recording or if he turned it off before the Bengals lost.

In his dream he was standing on the edge of the Golden Gate bridge. The Life Foundation building on the hillside was mocking him. To others it was a representation of science and the human spirit and whatever bullshit Drake said. 

To Eddie it was monument of all his failures. A giant, glaring reminder that his own mouth and his inability to follow basic direction had destroyed his life. One that was on public display for everyone to see.

His cellphone still had Anne’s photo as the background. He dropped it into the black water below.

The ring he had given her weighed a ton in his hand. His entire heart was in that ring. Now it was palpitating and bleeding. The ring was so small that he lost sight of it before it hit the water.

It was so loud. The self-hatred and guilt made him feel like his chest might explode. His writing was shit and he could see that now. Drake had just exposed that to the world. A good reporter could have bounced back from a scandal like this. But not Eddie. He was different. He tried to lit a match and ended up setting the room on fire. Eddie just wished he hadn’t burned Anne in the process of it all.

He was never going to get it back. Anne was gone, he was unemployed and he had let Ziggy die and be replaced with a bad impostor. All of his mistakes of his past were tied to his ankles like bricks.

Eddie took one last breath and stepped off the edge.

The fall was in slow motion. The dark water below getting closer and closer. He closed his eyes and waited for the burn of the water to enter his his lungs. A fleeting thought of “this is a bad idea, I can fix my life” entered his mind but he was already falling and it was too late to have second thoughts.

His body jerked upwards and he stopped midair.

Eddie opened his eyes and saw the water below. He was hanging from the bridge, his body swaying in the wind.

Black tendrils were wrapped around his arms, legs and chest. Eddie turned his head to look back but the bridge was replaced by a fog that covered everything. When he looked back down, the water was gone and he was surrounded by fog.

He couldn’t see what the tendrils were attached to, the fog was hiding whatever it was. They were warm against his skin and felt comforting. Whatever it was, it had saved his life.

The tendrils holding him twitched and rippled. Somehow Eddie knew the creature holding him was smiling.

**Find me Eddie, save me.**

The voice was all around him. Even in a dream it felt like it shouldn’t be possible but it felt natural and perfect.

The fog melted away first. Darkness surrounded everything around him until he opened his eyes and was staring at his living room ceiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that took a turn! Coming from someone who has struggled with depression, suicide is never the answer. If you are feeling suicidal then please reach out to those your trust. I promise they love you and still want you around. I know this is a fun crack fic but that bridge scene was pretty personal for me and I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!


	4. Chapter 4

One beer. One fucking beer and he was hungover. Eddie no longer considered himself a spring chicken but he wasn't that old. Still, he was leaning over his counter, counting out Advil for a throbbing headache.

He took four, downed a glass of water and tried to shake off the feelings from that weird dream. If one beer was going to make him have dreams of suicide and being saved by an invisible squid then maybe he shouldn't drink anymore. 

Eddie left the glass on the counter next to the overflowing sink. This "not-Ziggy" investigation was the only thing he had felt motivated to do in weeks. Rejection after rejection had taken its toll on him. He spent one week just laying in bed. If it wasn’t food or the urge to use the bathroom, then it wasn't worth getting up for. In his depression cave of blankets and pillows he could close his eyes and pretend that his life was back to normal.

The only thing that drug him out of bed was his phone charger crapping out. It still took him two extra days to be able to shower and that was only because he was getting a rash on his back.

Maybe that was why the dream bothered him so much. It wasn't very long ago that he did find himself looking over the side of the bridge. He had it planned out and stopped by Anne's house to say goodbye, only to meet her new boyfriend.

That was a punch to the dick. 

Eddie didn't remember why he didn't jump. He had tried to pinpoint a reason but he couldn't find one. 

Now he was living just to spite life itself.

A frantic knocking at his door broke through his thoughts. 

"Better not be Karen and her fucking rocks," his head was still throbbing despite the medicine. On his way to the door, he trashed the last two beer bottles. This wasn't worth it.

"Eddie!" he was pulled into a hug that was tight enough to make his ribs hurt. "I heard you'd been asking about me." Not-Ziggy broke the embrace and Eddie took a much needed breath. He opened his mouth to speak but Not-Ziggy put his finger up to silence him. “If you wanted to know, why didn’t you just ask?”

_ Because I’m pretty sure you killed a guy. _

“I-I didn’t want to be rude,” Eddie stammered.

“Nah, it’s not rude at all. My treat!” there was a manic look in his eyes and while Eddie wasn’t afraid he sure as hell didn’t feel comfortable as he walked into not-Ziggy’s apartment.

He had looked into Ziggy’s apartment before. It was full of metal posters, a drum kit and smelled like stale weed. In one night, not-Ziggy had turned the place into something unrecognizable.

The walls were now covered with print outs of about aliens. Everything from bad horror movies to conspiracy theories. Eddie walked around, moving his hands across the papers. Some of them had been connected with string and thumbtacks. 

“Impressive, ain’t it?” not-Ziggy stood in the middle of the room and opened his arms. Eddie nodded. This man was batshit fucking crazy but it really was impressive that he did all of this in one night. “I’ve heard of you before, the great Eddie Brock. Big fan of your work.”

Eddie couldn’t help but smile a little bit. It had been a long time since someone complimented his reporting. These days people did the opposite.

Not-Ziggy motioned for Eddie for sit next to him. Eddie did and after getting a closer look at not-Ziggy’s face, Eddie was pretty sure he had seen this man somewhere.

“I heard about the Life Foundation, everything you said. Eddie, I believe you,” not-Ziggy was sincere in his words. His eyes kept darting to different spots in the room, he looked unfocused. If Eddie didn’t know any better, he would think that not-Ziggy was having two different conversations.

“You believe me?” Eddie almost laughed in relief, forgetting for a moment all of his suspicions about this person.

“You see, Eddie, I’ve had some trouble with the law recently. I spent some time in prison and those Life people came in and they did something to me,” there was no fear in his eyes even thought he was talking illegal human testing. Eddie wished he had brought something to write with.

“What did they do?” Eddie wanted to make sure that not-Ziggy knew he was listening. The most basic rule of an interview is to ask questions when the other person tells a story. It makes it easier to get information out of them. Not-Ziggy shook his head, making his red hair bounce.

“I’m not sure what they did, screwed with my brain or something but,” he paused, looked down at the floor, then back at Eddie. “You’re gonna think I’m crazy, but you gotta trust me.”

Eddie already thought this guy was crazy, it couldn’t get any worse.

“But I can talk to an alien,” not-Ziggy tapped his forehead with one finger, “When I first heard her, she told me not to tell anyone, so I didn’t and they left.”

“ _Her_?” Eddie dropped his tense shoulders. He was wrong, it got much, much worse. “Man, are you sure?” Eddie’s doubt didn’t phase not-Ziggy, his eyes were still sparkling like a bottle of champagne. 

“Eddster, I have never been more sure of anything in my life,” He pulled a laptop on his lap and opened to. The screen showed a tumblr post talking about the mysteries of Area 51. “That’s where they are keeping her. I need you to help me break her out.”

“Oh my god,” Eddie signed and covered his mouth. “Listen, that is just a bad idea.” Not-Ziggy’s eyes darted around the room again, his lips moved but he wasn’t verbally speaking. The man was insane and deeply believed his own delusions 

“Just hear me out!” Not-Ziggy set the laptop on the floor. Eddie had remembered Ziggy having a coffee table but it was gone now. “You’ll be the first to prove that aliens are real, the first to unearth the secrets of Area 51!

“I just, I can’t agree to something like this, I don’t even know your name and you’re wanting me to commit suicide by government agent,” Eddie smirked at his own words. 

“Its Cletus! My name’s Cletus! Now you can help me!” 

Now  _ that  _ sounded familiar. A name like “Cletus” was not common these days, he had to of heard it somewhere.

“Think of it Eddie,” he put his arm around Eddie’s shoulder. “‘Eddie Brock revels the secrets of Area 51 and exposes the Life Foundation for illegally bonding a man to an alien!” the title was a little wordy but damn, if it didn’t sound good.

“I’ll think about it,” Eddie exhaled roughly and Cletus took his arm off Eddie’s shoulders.

“That's all we’re asking,” when Eddie stood up, Cletus draped his arm over the back of the sofa. Eddie had sat like that before with Anne. They’d watch a bad movie together, his arm around her, she’d fall asleep halfway through.

Eddie shoved the intrusive thoughts away, he had to figure out a way to move on from her. Anne was gone and never coming back.

“Red says thank you,” Cletus’s smile was getting more unnerving by the second.

“Who’s Red?” Eddie asked.

“That’s her name. Beautiful isn’t it?”

Eddie just nodded and hurried back to his safe little hole in the wall. His head was still pounding and he felt like a literal black cloud was looming over thoughts the rest of the day.


	5. Chapter 5

What was wrong with him? God help him, because Eddie was considering this. 

All lights were on in his house, it helped with the dark cloud feeling but not with the headache. Everything was silent in his apartment, the only sound being his fingers clicking on his keyboard.

Eddie had intended to research Area 51 and what the Life Foundation might have been involved in but he got distracted by videos of cats dressed in alien costumes. It was the first time he had laughed in a while and it felt nice. Laughter was the best medicine after all.

Medicine, Dan must know all about medicine. He wasn’t just a doctor but a surgeon. He probably made more money in a year than Eddie had made in his entire life. Not to say that Eddie didn’t make good money back then. With Annie being a lawyer and him being a TV reporter they never really had to worry too much about bills. But a doctor? That was different. Dan was out there saving lives and making patients swoon when they saw his pretty eyes.

“Fuck,” Eddie closed his laptop. He had fallen in that hole again, the same hole that left him in bed for weeks. 

He tried to take a walk to clear his mind. The further he got from his apartment, the less he felt the dark cloud over head. His feet had ran on muscle memory and he stopped himself when he realized he had almost walked to Annie’s house again. He turned the other way and let his thoughts drift.

He ended up sitting on a bench with a good view of the water. It reminded him of the first Men In Black movie where Agent J spends the entire night trying to decide if he should join the MIB or not. It was a moment where Agent J was at a crossroads and his choice changed everything for him.

Even in the waking world, Eddie could still feel the black tendrils holding his arms.It was almost a loving touch, as if Annie herself was trying to save him. The voice was not even close to Anne's voice however. It was a deep growl and it should have scared him but even now he wanted to hear it again. There was something comforting about it. The dream creature had cared enough for him to save him from dream suicide.

Maybe he should see a therapist. The thought made him chuckle, He could take Cletus with him, a therapist would have a field day with that man.

The Life Foundation had recently had success in launching a probe into space. It's not too far fetched to think that maybe they found something. After all, Eddie had already found proof that The Life Foundation had been doing human testing. Even though he had gotten fired, he wasn’t the only one to make that accusation. He was just the first. A few conspiracy blogs had popped up online that talked about The Life Foundation being a terrible company. Unfortunately, it did nothing to help Eddie’s broken reputation.

Nightfall set in and Eddie headed for home. 

The closer he got, the heavier the dark cloud weighed on him again. It felt like something was reaching out to him but unable to make first contact. It was a strange feeling. In the dream, it was comforting but in real life it made Eddie think of his sleep paralysis demon trying to cuddle him.

It was still a tad nice, but mostly terrifying.

Walking into his apartment didn’t help. All of the lights were off and it was pitch black. He reached for the light switch but it did nothing.

“Oh, goddamn it!” he slammed his front door closed and used his phone light to find the stack of bills in the kitchen. In the dark he fumbled and knocked them into the floor. It took a few minutes of searching but sure enough there was his unpaid electric bill. With his head hung, he walked to his bedroom. He needed a shower but he wasn’t about to break his neck trying to step over the edge of the tub in the dark. When he took his shirt off he threw it in the hallway. A reminder to shower tomorrow, picking up that shirt and showering was going to be is task for the day. After that it was back to his blanket cave(prison?).

Through the walls he could the muffled sounds of his various neighbors. It was a weird lullaby but it worked. After hours of looking into the darkness, he fell asleep.

The looming feeling followed him into the next day. The shirt was still holding its position in the hallway but he did manage a shower. Half way through the shower, the water snapped to ice cold due to the electric water heater being out of commission. 

Which also meant the microwave, the fridge and the air conditioner was out.

A suicide mission to Area 51 was starting to sound better and better. 

Once it hit 2pm, he couldn't handle the heat of his oven apartment. Ziggy's (should he be saying Cletus's now?) place felt like an icebox

"So," Eddie asked, tapping his pen against his bracelets. "Do you have any idea why the Life Foundation was experimenting with aliens?" 

Cletus smiled slyly at the question, "Come with me and I'll tell you everything I know."

Damnit. He should have seen that coming.

"I don't," Eddie stammered. "I can't just leave to do something like that, that place has guards, we can't just run in."

Cletus leaned forward, putting both elbows on his knees and resting his chin in his hands.

"Can I ask you somthin' Eddie?" there was a strange amount of sincerity in his eyes. Eddie's paranoia kicked in and for a second it felt as though Cletus knew about the suicide dream. That was impossible but Eddie broke eye contact any way.

Eddie did the opposite, exhaling harshly and falling back into his seat. The more he kept Cletus talking, the longer he could enjoy the cool air. Even if said cool air smelled like a rat might be rotting in the kitchen.

"Go for it," the tiredness ringing in Eddie's voice.

"What are you doing here?" a simple question but Cletus wasn't looking for a simple answer.

“In this room?” Eddie responded. Cletus laughed. He tossed his head back and Eddie failed to see what was so funny.

“No,” he caught his breath, “ _ Here _ , Eddie,” Cletus pointed to the floor. “On this Earth, what are you doing here?”

The full question caught Eddie by surprise. At one point he knew what his purpose was. He was going to buy a suit. A nice one, a brand new one. Annie was going to buy a dress. She wanted a blue one, pastel blue like spring. Eddie had long since abandoned most of the catholic teachings he was raised on but they agreed to be married in a church. A gentle piano would play as she walked in. She would meet him at the altar and he’d lift her veil to see her beautiful face. After a few years of marriage, maybe they could try for kids? Eddie had always wanted to be a dad.

None of that mattered now. The dream was shattered just like the souvenir snowglobe from their first date.

“Fuck,” Eddie couldn’t help it, his voice cracked and he covered his face. “I don’t know man, I don’t even have fucking electric anymore.”

“Eddie, hey,” Cletus voice softed, he put his arm around Eddie. “That’s why we got to do this. Think of it, I’ll get to get my girl, you might even get yours back too."

“No,” Eddie tried to act like something was in his eyes when her wiped them with the back of his hand. “No, she’s moved on. I screwed that up, there’s no going back.”

“What about your career? This will put you on the top again!” Cletus's smile was creepy, but reassuring. 

What did Eddie have to lose? He’d lost his girl, lost his job, was behind on rent and was barely making the payments on his bike. Most of the food in the fridge were old leftovers that were way past the throwout date. Without power he couldn't apply for any jobs. No job meany no rent money. His savings were gone a month ago. 

Best case scenario, he would get to expose the secrets of Area 51. Worst case? Death by an army soldier.

“You know what?” Eddie's face got serious “I’m in. Let’s do it.”

For the second time since their meeting, Cletus hugged Eddie. This time much tighter.

“You won’t regret this Eddie,” Cletus held onto him for a good thirty seconds being pulling away. “Now, you go get some beauty sleep, I will handle everything.”

Eddie found himself being pulled to his feet and pushed towards the door. Cletus was stronger than he looked. 

“Everything?” Eddie questioned as he was shoved out into the hallway.

“You got a nice bike Eddie but it’s not fit for a road trip, you just have your things packed at noon tomorow and I’ll be waiting on you.” his eyes had the same manic glow that they did the night he showed up. 

“Um,okay,” Eddie hadn’t expected this level of excitement.from the other man. After watching Cletus for a few days, Eddie was pretty sure he had no job or source of income. There probably wasn’t a lot of spare change in Ziggy’s apartment.

Shit. Eddie had gotten so wrapped into the aliens, Area 51 and possible Life Foundations tie-ins that Ziggy had slipped his mind. 

“Oh and Eddie?” Cletus added. “Red says her Dad is single.”

"Oh boy," Eddie's tone was flat. He had no idea what Cletus meant by that but Eddie had no intention of stealing his very own alien.

"That's the spirit!" Cletus ignored Eddie's reply and pumped his fist. "Noon tomorrow!"

The dark cloud over Eddie's head got heavier and he wondered what he had gotten himself into.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this update took so long! I've been in a bit of a funk and long story short I had to drop out of kinktober because it was effecting all my writings in a negative way.
> 
> Next chapter we solve the mystery of why everyone thinks Cletus is Ziggy.


	6. Interlude I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is really short but the next chapter will be up once I get MTK:Scream finished. Then this will be my only ongoing and I can give my full focus!

Eddie didn’t pack much. He knew that by the time he got back he would be evicted. If he made it back.

Eddie had never questioned his own mortally. Of course he knew that he wasn’t immoral. No one was. But he had never been in a situation like this before. The risk of death was much higher than the chance he would survive.

It was probably a good idea to wrap up one more loose end.

He dialed Annie’s number and wasn’t surprised when it rang twice and was sent to voicemail. That was okay, he wasn’t ready to hear her voice again.

“Hi Annie, Anne,” he stuttered over the nickname for her. There was no reason for him to be so casual now. “I, um, found a story and I’ll be leaving town.”

The dark cloud that had been looming over him seemed to drop down around his shoulders. Eddie knew nothing was there, he couldn’t see anything when he turned around. He went as far as rubbing his shoulders to make sure there wasn’t anything holding on him. Whatever the odd feeling was it was all in his head, a strange comfort that was happening more frequent. 

“It’s pretty dangerous and I’m not sure what’s going to happened and before I go I just-”

_ Wanted to say that I love you. You were the best thing that ever happened to me and I fucked it up and I’m so sorry that I ruined your life and broke your heart and drove you away, I’m so fucking sorry Annie,I love you so much _

“-wanted to tell you that I found your class ring and if you need it I’m going to leave it on the table.” angry at himself he hung the phone up.That wasn’t what he wanted to say at all, he didn't even have her class ring. He had just blurted out the first thing that had popped into this head.

Maybe it was best left unsaid. What more could he really say? He had left Anne many drunk voice mails, despite emails and midnight calls until he finally gave up and accepted that he had fucked up.

Eddie sighed and picked up the duffel bag that he had stuffed full of clothes, his laptop and old battered notebook. 

He stood at the doorway and took one last look at his apartment. It really wasn’t so bad. It had great floor space and he’d had some good times sleeping on the sofa. He finally got rid of the strange mold smell in the bathroom. The fridge had stopped making that strange “getting ready for take off” sound. He’d had some great tater tots out of the small toaster oven on the counter.

Eddie took his bike keys out of his pocket and left them on top of the toaster oven. The moterbike was great but like many things, he was leaving it behind. He couldn't keep up on the payments anyway.

Everything that had happened in the last six months coated the walls like a thick lead paint. He had never noticed it before but now that he stood back he was clear that this place was slowly killing him from the inside out. With the power off the only light was the noon sun. It tossed long shadows across the room. Two slits of sunlight came in from the tattered curtains. On the hardwood floor they almost looked like two eyes staring at him. It was unnerving but Eddie ignored it. A cloud moved and the sunlight eyes were gone.

It was time to move on. Time to move on from his past, move on this place, move on from Annie. Just time to move on, to let go and try to find something else to live for.

Eddie stepped out into the hallway and the long shadows followed him. Something was pulling him towards the main door the building that he couldn't place. It was an empty longing that felt like his but somehow wasn't his at all. 

"Alright Brock," he said to himself. "Time to go." He took a breath and hurried down the steps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know last chapter I left a note saying the Ziggy thing will be solved but I wanted to do a nice interlude to kind of shift the scene from Eddie's apartment to the road trip part of the story. I really love writing Eddie's character and this interlude was honestly just a nice little thing for me to write and let me brainstorm a few more parts that are coming up. Hope you all enjoyed it!

**Author's Note:**

> Hit me up on Twitter @SymbioticGoth


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